CDC discusses west-side industrial project

Details

Published: Thursday, 19 January 2017 22:03

The Pulaski County CDC (Community Development Commission) discussed snags with county government on its PC-CARE project at its January meeting.

The board also discussed plans for its annual public economic summit, and proposals for 2017 tourism marketing.

PC-CARE (Pulaski CountyCenter for Agriculture-Renewable Energy): CDC director Nathan Origer reported to the board that the county commissioners, at their first 2017 meeting, rescinded a 2016 decision providing for the possibility of selling part of the county farm property, eliminating that as a potential funding source for acquisition of the Medaryville property for the west-side industrial park site.

Origer has presented a rough timeline for development and marketing of the property to the county council, per council member Linda Power Nunez’s request. He also explained the benefits and detriments of including acquisition costs in a grant, as opposed to buying the ground with cash alone. (Origer reviewed with the CDC that paying cash for the land would cost the county less money in the long run while also allowing for greater flexibility in proceeding.) Council president Jay Sullivan suggested that discussion regarding this project should continue at a joint commissioners/council session.

Origer expressed frustration with elected officials’ refusal either to commit to the project or to kill it. Discussion followed that the council needs to have the urgency of moving forward pressed upon it, and also that community supporters should be encouraged to speak to officials about the need for this project.

Old Business

Hometown Collaboration Initiative:The final routes have been agreed upon, and all that remains to be done is numbering them and receiving INDOT approval for including stretches of state highways in two routes. Upon completion of these tasks, staff will proceed with the production of signs, bike-route–network brochures, and route-direction cards. Mrs. Hinkle will contact potential Tourism Advisory Council members in the coming weeks.

Wage-and-benefit survey: The Pulaski County Human Resource Group’s survey committee met in December. Origer has been working on developing the survey document, and the Human Resource Group will meet and discuss this project later in January.

Francesville and Winamac Main Street organizations: The director reported that WOW! (Wander Our Winamac!) will hold its annual general-membership meeting in January, preparing for 2017 projects, and working to build its membership. CDC board member Darlene Mellon noted that Francesville’s UpTown Project has scheduled one or two events for each month to attract attention, to keep progress moving, and to bring positive change to the community.

Adopt-a-River program: Origer has passed this project on to Mrs. Hinkle, who will resume work in the coming weeks.

Pulaski County Industrial Leadership Certificate program: Discussions will continue at the February meeting of the Pulaski County Industrial Forum.

Leadership-seminar proposal: The leadership trainer whose proposal had been presented at the November meeting will speak to attendees of the January Human Resource Group and February Industrial Forum meetings.

New Business

2016 financial review:  Origer presented an expanded version of the month-end report usually provided as part of the consent agenda. He highlighted that about 55 percent of the 2016 budget had been returned unexpended, the CEDIT Fund had a current balance of nearly $2.1 million (including 2017 departmental appropriations, which he estimated to be between $600,000 and $650,000, and $580,000 invested in a certificate of deposit), and that all active Revolving Loan Fund borrowers were up-to-date on repayment.

Discussion followed regarding the healthy balance of the CEDIT Fund and apparent reluctance on the part of the county with respect to spending this money for investment in growth, and whether or not this represented questionable stewardship of tax revenues. CDC president Gregg Malott added that a cause for concern is that development costs are likely to increase with each passing year, making money held so tightly less valuable as time elapses.

2017 Pulaski County Economic Summit: The annual Summit will be March 14, in Medaryville. Origer solicited input regarding facility, caterer, and guest speaker and topic. Suggestions followed for facilities and meals.Potential guest-speaker topics included industrial development, agricultural economic development, generational trends, and Tippecanoe River State Park or Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area. Origer will follow up on these and asked for continued input prior to the February meeting.

2017 tourism marketing: Noting that the marketing budget for 2017 is $45,000, the director emphasized staff belief in the need to continue and to amplify tourism-marketing efforts.

A proposal for 4,074 television-commercial airings across Chicagoland, plus online impressions, from Comcast Spotlight for $22,022.45 was presented with the director’s and Mrs. Hinkle’s blessing. A number of options from WCIU-TV were also presented; Director Origer expressed reservations about the narrow scope and fairly low viewership, but did note that WCIU-TV offered the opportunity for an in-studio live conversation about Pulaski County in addition to the airing of commercials.

Print and digital marketing opportunities in the Fort Wayne region through Fort Wayne Magazine were also reviewed. The consensus opinion was to move forward with the Comcast proposal, to continue discussions with WCIU, and to move forward with a pared down version of the Fort Wayne plan.

Mrs. Mellon suggested investigating Indiana Beach’s marketing strategies and avenues and piggy-backing off of those if possible; board member Andrew Fritz proposed movie-theater ads, perhaps in Valparaiso, Rensselaer, or both; and board member Dave Zeltwanger proposed revisiting discussions about billboard advertising.

2017 strategic visioning: Given the apparent apprehension on the part of elected officials toward the west-side rail-served industrial park project; that this project is the keystone of the 2010 strategic plan; that often staff work on projects as they come, without always having a neat framework for setting priorities; and that efforts may be required to ensure a positive relationship between the CDC and commissioners, the director suggested that engaging in a strategic-planning process would be advisable. Further discussion was tabled until February, but the consensus agreement was that a visioning committee should be established.

CDC Board Membership

It was reported the county council will retain Doug Roth as its representative to the CDC board. The county commissioners have not announced if former commissioner Larry Brady will finish his term or be replaced by a sitting commissioner.

New members welcomed to the CDC board, effective March 1, are at-large members Ross Davis of BraunAbility and Samantha Williams, director of Purdue Extension – Pulaski County.

Gregg Malott's term renewal, will be effective March 1. John Plowman has been reappointed as representative of the Winamac Town Council, and Darlene Mellon will again represent the Francesville Town Council.

The CDC is seeking a representative from the agriculture community to succeed Andrew Fritz who is completing his two terms.